2
-
"American interest in the China coast is just as old as the
British, as the Salem Museum bears witness.
Indeed, before the age
of steam, American clippers held the record for passages from Hong Kong to both London and Boston.
"I am no admirer of that early colonial era in which Hong Kong was founded, but it is a striking fact that of that era Hong Kong is the only colony of any economic significance that has survived. This is largely due to special circumstances, including the attitude of the People's Republic of China. But I think too it has survived because the combination of the place, the people and the Government has been
so extra-ordinarily successful and because all are equally free and welcome to participate in this success and to profit from it, whether from China, america, Britain or elsewhere.
"In American terms it is tiny, smaller than any state in the Union, but in spite of that, and with no natural resources except a harbour and its own magnificent people, with their wit and realism and capacity for hard work, it is the 16th largest trading unit in the world.
"Many of you will know how modern Hong Kong started, In the early 50's there was a flood of immigrants from China that doubled and tripled the population in a decade. And with the UN embargo there were no means of employing them in Hong Kong's traditional trade with China. These daunting conditions forced on Hong Kong the economic characteristics it has retained ever since, that is of
manufacture for export using imported raw materials.
large-scale
This started
along the simplest lines but has progressed rapidly to sophisticated and capital-intensive production. The story of Hong Kong's industrial
transformation is well told in that of a well-known firm that started
by making
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.